This application claims the priority of commonly owned German patent application Serial No. 199 38 542.4 filed Aug. 18, 1999. The disclosure of the above-referenced German patent application, as well as that of each U.S. and/or foreign patent and patent application identified in the specification of the present application, is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for manipulating mass flows (multiple-layer flows) of elongated articles (particularly rod-shaped articles) which are to be advanced, by moving sideways, from one or more makers or other source or sources to one or more processing or consuming units (such as packing, filter tipping or other types of machines). Typical examples of elongated articles which are or must often be conveyed in the form of a mass flow are plain or filter cigarettes or other rod-shaped products of the tobacco processing industry. For example, it is frequently desirable to convey a mass flow of plain cigarettes from a maker (e.g., a machine known as PROTOS which is distributed by the assignee of the present application) to a so-called tipping machine wherein pairs of plain cigarettes of unit length are assembled with filter mouthpieces of multiple unit length to form therewith filter cigarettes of double unit length. A tipping machine of such character is known as MAX and is distributed by the assignee of the present application. Reference may also be had to commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,008 granted Aug. 4, 1992 to Oesterling et al. for xe2x80x9cMETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING FILTER CIGARETTESxe2x80x9d.
It is often necessary (e.g., due to the configuration and/or the dimensions of the space which is available for the installation of a mass flow conveying unit) to deflect the mass flow, once or more than once, on its way from a source to a processing station. This involves the establishment of mutually inclined first and second paths and of a deflecting station between the two paths. The instrumentalities at the deflecting station serve to direct successive increments of the mass flow from one of the paths into the other path, e.g., from the discharge end of a substantially horizontal path into the upper end of a downwardly extending upright path. As a rule, a cover is provided to at least partially overlie those increments of the mass flow which advance through or along the deflecting station. The cover is designed with a view to ensure that it is capable of xe2x80x9cbreathingxe2x80x9d, i.e., of expanding and contracting in dependency upon the fluctuations of quantities of articles in those portions of the mass flow which are in the process of advancing through the deflecting station. The present invention relates to improvements in the just described apparatus which are designed to convey a mass flow from a first path, through a deflecting station, and into a second path which is inclined relative to the first path.
In accordance with a prior proposal, plain or filter cigarettes are conveyed from a maker or from a tipping machine to a packing machine in the form of a mass flow along a normally horizontal first path, through a deflecting station, and into a downwardly extending second path which compels the cigarettes to descend into a magazine of the packing machine. A collapsible cover at the deflecting station comprises several cigarette-contacting baffles as well as one or more additional cigarette-contacting parts.
German patent No. 36 30 028 discloses an apparatus which is designed to change the direction of movement of a mass flow of cigarettes through 90xc2x0 on their way into a so-called tray filling machine, e.g., a machine disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,254 granted Apr. 21, 1992 to Tolasch et al. for xe2x80x9cAPPARATUS FOR FILLING AND EMPTYING TRAYS FOR ROD-SHAPED ARTICLES OF THE TOBACCO PROCESSING INDUSTRYxe2x80x9d. The apparatus of the German patent employs a xe2x80x9cbreathingxe2x80x9d cover which overlies the topmost layer of articles at the deflecing station and comprises a membrane which is attached to two carriers pivotable about discrete neighboring axes. When the articles of the mass flow pile up at the inlet (upper end) of the upright path serving to receive articles which have advanced through the deflecting station, the topmost layer of the articles at such station causes the membrane to yield and to penetrate into a reservoir. Such yielding of the membrane entails a pivoting of the aforementioned carriers. A drawback of the just described patented apparatus is that the useful life of the membrane is rather short as well as that the reservoir constitutes a bulky component which occupies a substantial amount of space at the deflecting station irrespective of whether or not it is in use, i.e., whether or not it receives a portion of the membrane and a certain quantity of rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station. Moreover, the articles which have entered the reservoir are likely to dwell therein for extended periods of time.
Another conventional deflecting apparatus is disclosed in published German patent application Serial No. 28 41 266. This apparatus serves to convey a mass flow of cigarettes along a horizontal path to a level above the magazine of a packing machine. The cover for the cigarettes at the deflecting station above the magazine employs a membrane which is attached to a single carrier. The arrangement is such that the carrier is connected to one side of the membrane at the receiving (upstream) end of the deflecting station; the other side of the membrane (at the downstream end of the deflecting station) is attached to a spring which causes the under-side of the membrane to bear upon the topmost layer of the mass flow between the upstream and downstream ends of the deflecting station. In the event of a pileup at the discharge end of the deflecting station (i.e., at the upper end of the duct discharging into the magazine of the packing machine), the topmost layer of cigarettes bears upon the underside of the membrane which yields against the opposition of the aforementioned spring. A sensor which overlies the membrane detects such displacement of the membrane and generates a signal which is used to vary the speed of a prime mover (such as a motor) serving to regulate the speed of the conveyor which delivers successive increments of the mass flow along the horizontal path and to the inlet of the deflecting station. A drawback of the just described deflecting apparatus is that it employs a membrane, i.e., a cover the useful life of which is relatively short, as well as that the spring-biased membrane is apt to deform the adjacent cigarettes when it is called upon to yield due to a pileup of cigarettes at the inlet of the aforementioned duct.
An object of the instant invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which can treat the rod-shaped articles of a mass flow of such articles gently and which is provided with a novel and improved cover for the topmost layer of articles advancing through the deflecting station between an article-delivering first conveyor and an article-receiving second conveyor.
Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which constitutes an improvement over and a further development of deflecting apparatus disclosed in German patent No. 35 30 028.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which need not employ a membrane as a cover or as a part of the cover for rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a machine or production line which employs the improved deflecting apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which is simpler and more compact than presently known deflecting apparatus for successive increments of mass flows of cigarettes and analogous rod-shaped articles.
A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which can be readily installed in existing machines or production lines as a superior substitute for conventional deflecting apparatus.
Another object of the invention is to provide a deflecting apparatus which is constructed and assembled in such a way that the deforming forces applied to the topmost layer of rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station remain at least substantially constant irrespective of fluctuations of the rate of delivery of the articles of a mass flow to and/or of the rate of removal of articles from the deflecting station.
An additional object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which is particularly suited for controlled advancement and deflection of mass flows of plain or filter cigarettes or analogous rod-shaped smokers"" products from a maker to a processing or consuming unit because it can manipulate rod-shaped smokers"" products without causing the escape of any or any appreciable quantities of tobacco particles at the tobacco containing end(s) of the rod-shaped products.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved method of manipulating rod-shaped articles of a mass flow of such articles at a station where successive increments of the mass flow are being deflected from a first path (such as a substantially horizontal path into a second path (such as a substantially vertical path).
A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved cover which can be utilized in the above outlined deflecting apparatus to overlie the top-most layer of rod-shaped articles in that increment or in those increments of a mass flow of rod-shaped articles which advance through the deflecting station.
One feature of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for deflecting successive increments of a mass flow of at least substantially parallel elongated rod-shaped articles from a first path wherein the articles are advanced sideways in a first direction into a second path wherein the articles are advanced sideways in a second direction inclined with reference to the first direction and receiving articles from the first path at a deflecting station. The improved apparatus comprises a first conveyor having means (such as one or more endless belts or bands or chains) for advancing successive increments of the mass flow along the first path to the deflecting station, a second conveyor (e.g., an upright chute or duct) defining the second path and having means (such as the sidewalls surrounding the second path) for receiving successive deflected increments of the mass flow at the deflecting station, and means for diverting successive increments of the mass flow during advancement from the first path into the second path. The diverting means consists essentially of a plurality of (preferably two) mobile plate-like baffles overlying the increments of the mass flow at the deflecting station. The baffles can be said to constitute a collapsible and expandible (breathing) cover which overlies the increments of the mass flow at the deflecting station irrespective of variations of the rate of advancement of rod-shaped articles along the first path to the deflecting station and/or the rate of entry of deflected increments of articles into the second path.
At least one of the baffles is or can be pivotable relative to the conveyors. The arrangement is preferably such that each of the baffles is pivotable relative to the conveyors about a discrete axis which is remote from at least one of the conveyors; the at least one conveyor is or can be constituted by the first conveyor, and the pivot axes of the baffles are or can be at least substantially parallel to each other.
The improved cover at the deflecting station is or can be set up in such a manner that it includes a first baffle pivotable relative to the conveyors about a first axis which is disposed at the inlet of the deflecting station (i.e., at the inlet of that portion of the composite path for the mass flow which extends through the deflecting station), and a second baffle pivotable relative to the conveyors about a second axis disposed at the outlet of the deflecting station. In accordance with a presently preferred embodiment, the first baffle is pivotable about the first axis in a first region and the second baffle is pivotable about the second axis in a second region which at least partially overlaps or coincides with the first region. Otherwise stated, the mobile baffles of the novel cover are movable relative to the first and second conveyors in regions which at least partially overlap or coincide with each other.
The baffles are movable relative to the two conveyors as well as relative to each other and they can include portions (e.g., comb-like portions or toothed portions) which intermesh at least during one or more predetermined stages of movement of the baffles relative to each other.
At least one of the baffles can constitute an arcuate (e.g., a concavo-convex) plate which extends along a 45xc2x0 arc forming part of a circle having its center remote from the respective pivot axis.
The baffles can be provided with rounded end portions which are remote from the respective pivot axes and are or can be parallel to the rod-shaped articles at the deflecting station; such end portions are movable relative to each other and they can constitute the aforediscussed serrated or toothed portions of the respective baffles.
The first conveyor can be arranged to advance a substantially horizontal mass flow having a height which is variable between a maximum height and a minimum height, and each of the baffles can be mounted for pivotal movement about a discrete axis. Each such baffle can have a length (as measured radially of the respective pivot axis) which at least approximates the maximum height of the mass flow (i.e., the height of the first path as measured at right angles to the direction of advancement of successive increments of the mass flow along the first path).
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the apparatus can further comprise means (such as a linkage) for articulately coupling the baffles to each other. For example, if the baffles include first and second baffles which are respectively pivotable about first and second axes, the coupling means can comprise first and second levers which are respectively pivotable with the first and second baffles and at least one link which connects the levers to each other. The arrangement is or can be such that each of the two ends of the link is articulately connected to the free end of a single lever. If the first and second axes are respectively adjacent the first and second paths, the first lever can be mounted in such a way that it is at least substantially parallel to the adjacent portion of the first baffle and the second lever can be mounted in such a way that it is at least substantially normal to the adjacent portion of the second baffle.
The first conveyor is or can be adjustable to vary the rate of advancement of rod-shaped articles of the mass flow along the first path, and such apparatus can further comprise means for adjusting the first conveyor in dependency on the extent of movement of at least one of the baffles from a predetermined starting position.
The first path is or can be at least substantially horizontal, and the second path is or can be at least substantially vertical and preferably extends downwardly from the deflecting station.
The purpose of the aforediscussed coupling means is to ensure that, when one of the baffles is moved by the rod-shaped articles advancing through the deflecting station from a predetermined (e.g., a starting) position in response to fluctuations in the rate of advancement of articles to the deflecting station by the first conveyor, the other baffle or baffles is or are moved to an extent which is a function of the extent of movement of the one baffle from its predetermined position.
A presently preferred use of the improved deflecting apparatus is in a production line wherein the first conveyor receives rod-shaped articles of the tobacco processing industry from a maker of such articles. e.g., in a production line including the structure described and shown in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,078 granted Dec. 5, 1995 to Hoffmann et al. for xe2x80x9cMETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING A SINGLE LAYER OF RODSHAPED ARTICLES INTO A MASS FLOWxe2x80x9d.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and the modes of assembling and operating the same, together with additional important and advantageous features and attributes thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain presently preferred specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.